Card punching machine for detecting double punchings and blank columns



March 14, 1950 E. J. KEEDY 2,500,288

CARD puucnmc momma: FOR nsmc'rme DOUBLE ruucumcs AND BLANK COLUMNS Filed Jan. 22, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 HNVENTOR [DWWPD a. K570) ATTORNE March 14, 1950 E. J. KEEDY 2,500,288

CARD PUNCHING MACHINE FOR DETECTING DOUBLE PUNCHINGS AND-BLANK COLUMNS 7 Filed Jan. 22, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Off-JET STHCAIA MIG INVENTOR [DMQAD J. AH'D) Patented Mar. 14,

2,500,288 FF lCE amass cm memo mom son DETECT- ING DOUBLE PUNCHINGS COLUMNS ANDBLANK Edward J. Keedy, Johnson City, N. Y., assignor to International Business Maehln tion, New York, N. York es Corporaa corporation of New Application January 22, 1947, Serial No. mass 4 Claims. (01 73-156) This invention relates to machines which operate in conjunction with punched cards and more particularly to punching machines of the type which are provided with means to detect and sens the presence of asuperfluous perforation or a I ence of a perforation in the column where one should be present.

Machines of the type shown herein operate in conjunction with a form of card known as the Hollerith card in which a single hole in a column represents a character or numeral and all of the card columns are to be perforated to represent tecting circuit which is simpler thanthat heretofore employed and to such a degree that the machine in which the improvements are incorporated may accommodate the relays in the limited space provided in the machine and. therefore, all columns may have a coordinated relay checking circuit.

In more detail it is an object of the invention to devise an error detecting circuit for detection of blank columns anddouble punched columns which will require only one individual relay per column instead of two relays as in the previous arrangements.

According to the invention the electrical means for detecting an additional unwanted designation or perforation in the same card column, which indicates a, double punching, consists of a dualwound relay having its pickup winding in the analyzing and sensing circuit for the card perforations, said pickup winding being energized upon the sensing of a first perforation, circuit closing means controlled by the pickup winding to energize the holding winding of the dual- ..wound relay and hold the holding winding energized after the first perforation is sensed and until all of the index points in the card column have been analyzed, and a further circuit closing means controlled by the holding winding to connect the card perforation analyzing and sensing circuit to a double punching "detecting circuit which causes the operation of the latter upon the occurrence of the second successive perforation.

According to the invention a further improvement consists in energizing the pickup winding of the dual-wound relay during one part ofthe sensing period of the first perforation and ren-v dering the double punching detecting circuit 2 operative during another part of the sensing period of the second perforation.

A still further improvement according to the invention is the provision of additional contact means operated by the holding winding which remains in normal closed position upon the failure to sense any perforation so that timed contact means in the circuit of said additional contact means is operative after all index point positions have been sensed or analyzed to operate the blank column detecting circuit to indicate the absence of any perforation in the card column analyzed.

Also, according to the invention a further improvement consists in the provision of electrically controlled means such as a relay for connecting the dual-wound relay in the sensing circuit during said one part of the sensing period for each card perforation.

While the invention has been shown embodied in that form of machine in which a card is marked with conductive index marks which control perforation of the card in corresponding index point positions, the present invention is not restricted in its employment to such type of machine since it may be utilized in connection with cards already punched. In other words, it is not necessary that the machine in which the present improvement is embodied have incorporated therein a punching mechanism since the cards to be checked by the improvement may be punched by other means.

Other objects of the invention will be pointed out in the following description and claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which disclose, by way of example, the principle of the invention and the best mode which has been contemplated of applying that principle.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the machine showing the card feeding, sensing and perforating devices.

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the device for off-setting incorrect cards.

Fig. 3 is a detail view showing the electromag netic control for the card off-setting device.

Figs. 4 and 5 are timing diagrams of the electrical contacts used in the circuit connections with Fig. 4 representing an enlargement of a portion of the timing diagram of Fig. 5.

Fig. 6 is a wiring diagram of the machine.

The cards It which are to be checked are. inserted in a supply magazine I i and are fed singly from the bottom of the magazine by means of a picker I! carried by a slidable rack l3. Meshing with the slidable rack I3 is a reciprocable segment ll.

The means for reciprocating the segment l4 subsequently described isfully shown and de- 2,275,396, dated March 3, 1942, which discloses a form of machine to which the is preferably applied.

When the bottom card is fed out of the ma azine II it passes between feed rollers l5 and I6 which convey the card past a sensing station which comprises brushes l1 and a contact bar I 8. As will be subsequently explained, this sensing station may be utilized to sense conductive marks on cards to control a punching mechanism. The card is fed past the punching station and is fed by rollers l9 and 20 to another sensing station which comprises brushes 2| and a contact roller 22. This sensing station is involved in the present invention and is provided for detecting errors in card punching. Cards emerging from this checking station are fed by rollers 23 and 24 to a discharge hopper 25.

The punching mechanism is substantially the same as that embodied in the machine shown in the Johnson patent, No. 2,275,396 and the re-issue patent to C. D. Lake, No. 21,133, corresponding to the original Patent No. 2,232,805, dated March 3, 1936.

If punching is to be effected on blank cards, a punch magnet PM for each column receives a differentially timed impulse which rocks its armature structure 26, drawing a link 21 to the right to effect coupling between an interposer 28 and a punch operating plate 29. The plate 29 is carried by a member 30 pivoted at 3| and is oscillated by means of a link 32 connected to an arm 33 on an oscillating shaft 34.

In the event that the cards are already punched and are to be checked by the error detecting circult to be subsequently described, then such cards will be fed successively from the supply hopper to the checking station 2|, 22. However, if such cards are mark-sensed as in the aforementioned Johnson patent, No. 2,275,396, and are to be perforated by the presently described punching mechanism, then the conductive marks on such cards are sensed by the brushes l1 and such data is stored and such stored representations are adapted to effect the energization of the related punch magnets PM to perforate the cards at index point positions corresponding to the sensed conductive marks. The sensing brushes are, with relation to the punching station, so arranged that the conductive marks on the cards are sensed two cycle points before the corresponding index point positions are correlated with the punches.

The present invention is, however, not restricted in its use to checking punched cards which receive their punchings from conductive marks on the card, but the punchings may already be on the cards l0, when in the hopper H, or from a separate source the punching mechanism may be controlled or actuated so as to perforate each of the blank cards ill with the desired designation. For example, the punch magnets PM may be energized under control of a master card sensing station as fully shown and explained in the re-issue Patent No. 21,133.

In either case it is evident that the punch mag nets PM are energized by differentially timed impulses to effect coupling of punches 35 to the oscillating plate 29 and effect punching at the desired index point positions of the blank portion of the card. When the punches 35 are proiected downwardly they pass through the selected index, point positions of the card and into a die plate 36. Cards are fed through the machine with the top part of the card leading and the present invention punchings.

cards are punched column by column horizontally in the order R, X, 0, 1-9 as is well known to those skilled in the art to which the invention appertains.

While the cards may fall into the storage hopper 25 as they are disposed in said hopper by the feeding rollers 23, 24, it is preferable to assist 'thisejection by mutilated stacker rollers 40, 4|

which are secured to a rotating shaft 42. By a gear operating train fully shown and described in the Johnson Patent No. 2,275,396, said shaft 42 is rotated so that the mutilated stacker rollers 40- will engage the top surface of the card emerging from the rollers 23 and 24 and forcibly eject it downwardly in the storage hopper 25.

Ofi-setting device device to thereby off-set cards in the magazine 25 which have been found incorrect in their column To effect this function, the rollers 4ll4| are shiftable to the left'to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 2 to thereby cause each engaged card found to be incorrectly punched to be shifted to te left and off-set, as shown by the three wrong cards designated low in Fig. 2.

To this end the shaft 42 is slidably mounted in side frames 43, 44 and a spring 45 which encircles the shaft 42 and abuts the side face of the roller 40 and. the fixed frame 43 maintains the stacker rollers 40, 4| in the full line position shown in Fig. 2. When shaft 42 is shifted to the left by selective means to be subsequently described, spring 45 is compressed and thereafter said spring functions to return the stacker rollers 40, 4| to normal position shown in Fig. 2.

'Slidably mounted on the side frame 44 (Fig. 3) is a bracket 46 which has elongated slots in which project pins 48, 49, carried by the side frame 44. .A spring 50 has one end attached to the guide pin 48 and the other to a pin 5| carried by the bracket 46 and said spring normally tends to elevate the bracket 46 upwardly but this action is normally prevented by means of a latch 52 which is secured to or is part of an armature 53 of the off-set control magnets SM. The top of the bracket 46 carries a roller 54 and when the bracket 46is in its normally latched position said roller 54 is out of cooperation with an off-setting cam 55 secured to the shaft 42. Under such conditions, that is the non-energization of the off-setting magnets SM, the stacker rollers 40, 4| will be in the full line position shown in Fig. 2 and cards will be stacked in normal position.

However, by error detecting means to be subsequently described hereinafter stacker magnets SM are energized to attract the armature 53 and rock latch member 52 to the right to be unlatched from the bracket 46, now enabling th spring 50 to elevate the bracket 46 and dispose the cam roller 54 into cooperation with the off-setting cam 55. The engagement of the cam roller 54 with the sloping portion of off-setting cam 55 will cause as the cam is rotated the stacker roller shaft 42 to be moved to the left to the dotted line position. Thus, the card emerging from the rollers 23, 24 and engaged by the stacker rollers 46, 4| will be engaged by the off-set rollers and forced into the storage hopper 25 in off-set position, as indicated by three cards low.

After the axial displacement of the shaft 42, restoring cam 56 attached to shaft 42 will engage the roller 54, positively depressing the bracket 46 Perforation of card columns As is well known to those skilled in the art. when cards are perforated to represent numerical information according to the Hollerith sys- Cam contacts (B1 close during section II during the time that each numerical, index point position or X, R is sensed, closing prior to. the 4 sub-division and opening at the 8 sub-division.

tern of numerical designation, or to represent X or R, each card column 'must be perforated at only one index point position. In order that each column of a field be perforated to represent a complete number it is also essential that colurnns to the left of the digit 1-9 representing the highest denominational order be also perforated at the 0 index point positions. It is thus obvious that a correctly punched card representing numerical information has but one perforation in each column and that the absence of a perforation or the occurrence of more than one perforation in any column represents an incorrectly punched card. This incorrect punching may be caused by the location of two conductive markings in a sensed column of the card, or in rare occurrences due to a faulty operation of the card punching mechanism occasioned by wear of the parts or failure in adjustment, these conditions are reflected by incorrect punching in a card column. To this end, the machine is provided with improved instrumentalities for detecting the absence of a required perforation or the presence of an unwanted perforation in each card column. The improvement will be described more particularly in connectionwith the wiring diagram of Fig. 6 and associated timing diagrams of Figs. 4 and 5.

Double punch detection The machine in which the present improvement is preferably incorporated is operable in successive cycles, each cycle of the machine being divided into fourteen cycle points as will be observed in Fig. 5, twelve of these cycle points being utilized for the timing required to sense the index positions R, X, 0-9 and for numerical sensing only ten cycle points are used for sensing index point positions 0-9. Each cycle point is sub-divided into ten sub-divisions as shown in Fig. 4 for the period in which the 0 hole is sensed. Fig. 4i is an enlargement of the timing of the 0 cycle point in Fig. 5 and is on an enlarged scale to more easily follow the timing to be described hereinafter. During the complete period that the sensing brush 2| (Fig. 6) encounters a hole in the card, the sensing circuit is closed at the 0 sub-division and opened at about sub-division 8 and as will be observed in Fig. 4 the sensing period is divided into two sections, I and II. The improvement makes use of the section II which has not been used heretofore since, in previous circuits for double punch and blank card detection, only sub-divisions 1, 2 and 3 of section I were used. This results in simplification of the circuit and the reduction in the number of relays.

The electrical wiring includes cam operated contacts designated CB which are operated by shaft 48 of the machine of Re-issue Patent No. 21,133, and P cam contacts which are operated by shaft SI of the machine of said re-issue' patent. Their timing is shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

These cam contacts will complete an obvious energizing circuit for the R2 relay across lines 60, II and said relay closes its R2a contacts, of which there is one in each. sensing circuit. If a hole is sensed at the 0 index point position, for example in the units order, the brush 2! will-encounter contact roller 22 through the hole and a circuit will be completed from line 80 through CB2 cani contacts (which close after cam contacts (3B1),

contact roll 22, sensing brush 2|, pickup coil of RI relay. through R2a relay contacts to line 6|. A hold circuit for the RI relay'is completed from the line ll through the hold coil of RI relay, through Ria relay contacts, CB8 cam contacts to line 60. Cam contacts CB8 (see Fig. 5) does not. open until 13.4 in the cycle after all index point positions in the column have been sensed and thus RI relay can be picked up upon sensing any first hole. Rlb relay contacts close to prepare a double punch detecting circuit and assuming that due to an error a hole is at the next or 1 index point position, the following error detecting circuit'will be completed. Cam contacts CB5 close during section II of the sensing period and just prior to the time that the sensing brush 2| encounters the contact roll 22 through the 1 hole and when such contact between brush 2| and contact roll 22 is made CBI contacts are closed, completing a circuit from line 80, through CBI contacts, contact roll 22 and brush 2 I, thence through Rib relay contacts now closed, CB5 cam contacts, SI switch to the pickup coil Pi of the R25 relay to line 64. R25a relay contacts close to complete a circuit from line 8| to the R25 hold coil, R25a relay contacts, PM cam contacts, to line 60.

Cam contacts PM close during the sensing of all index point positions so that as a result of .double punching the hold coil of R25 relay may be picked up at any time and held energized to the end of the cycle. In the example it was assumed that the second and incorrect hole was at the next index point position but obviously the R25 relay can be energized upon sensing any second hole which is higher numerically and this second hole need not be the adjacent one.

Before cam contacts P-ll open cam contacts P3 closes to complete a circuit from line 60, through P3 cam contacts, R25b relay contacts, the pickup coil of RM relay to linetl. A hold circuit for the hold coil of RI! relay is now completed 'from line 6| through the hold coil of RM, Rlla relay contacts, Pl cam contacts, back to line and cam contacts Plhold'RllH relay energized during the greater part of the next cycle, during which time the card is being fed by rollers 23,

24 to be discharged in the hopper 25. At cycle point I! in this next following cycle, cam contacts P2 close to complete a circuit from line 60,

- through P4 cam contacts, Rlla relay contacts,

P8 cam contacts, RIB relay toline 6|, which relay closes its Rita hold contacts to complete a hold circuitb'ack to line 60 through P9 cam contacts. Before the latter cam contacts open Pl 0 cam con tacts close between 0-1 of the cycle to complete a circuit from line 60 through PHI cam contacts, RI 611 relay contacts now closed, SM ofi-set stacker magnets toline Bl. Energization of such magnets will, in the manner previously described, shift the stacker rolls MI, 4| (Fig. 2) so as to offset the incorrectlypunched card.

Blank column detection When the circuit is to be also operative to detect blank columns, switch S2 is closed. In the absence of a perforation in a column the RI relay of that column will not be energized and therefore the Rlc relay contacts remain closed. Cam contacts Pl I close at 9.6 cycle which is at a time after all the possible index point positions in a column have been sensed for the presence of a hole to thereby complete a circuit from line 80, through PH cam contacts, Rlc relay contacts, S2 switch and a second pickup coil P2 of the R25 relay. In the manner previously described, this will cause energization of the off-set stacker magnets SM and such cards that are found to be blank in the column sensed will be off-set.

Simplification of detecting circuits The explanation has been confined to the operation of the machine when the units column has been sensed but by a duplication of such sensing circuits, multi-columns of a card may be checked. For each column it is only necessary to have an individual relay RI, and the R2 relay may be common to a plurality of columns, being limited by the number of contacts that a relay may as a practical matter close. In practice the R2 relay may be associated with twenty columns. The R25 error indicating relay is common to all columns and may be picked up upon detection of a blank column or double punched columns in any column sensed. It is also explained that the R2 relay is energized only during section II of the sensing period so that sensing of a second hole will not cause the pickup coil of R! relay to be energized. Thus the impulse from the sensing circuit upon sensing a second hole is directed solely to the pickup coil of R25.

While there have been shown and described and pointed out the fundamental novel features of the invention, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the device illustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a machine operable in conjunction with punched cards having a series of index point positions in which a character designation is effected in solely one index point position but may have an additional unwanted designation at a, second index point position, the combination of means for sensing said index point positions in succession to determine the presence of designations, a sensing circuit including said sensing means, a pickup winding and a holding winding of a dual wound relay, means to effect the energization of said pickup winding by said sensing circuit upon sensing the first designation, circuit closing means controlled by said pickup winding to energize said holding winding and hold the latter energized until all index point positions have been sensed, an error detecting circuit, and means controlled by said holding winding to connect said sensing circuit to saiderror detecting circuit to cause the operation of the latter upon the occurrence of said second successive designation.

2. In a machine operable in conjunction with punched cards having a series of index point positions in which a character designation is effected in solely one index point position but may have the absence of such designation or the presence of an additional unwanted designation at a second index point position, the combination of means for sensing said index point positions in succession to deter-mine the presence of designations, a sensing circuit including said sensing means, a pickup winding and a holding winding of a dual wound relay, means to effect the energization of said pickup winding by said sensing circuit upon sensing the first designation, circuit closing means controlled by said pickup winding to energize said holding winding and hold the latter energized until all index point positions have been sensed, an error detecting circuit, means controlled by said holding winding to connect said sensing circuit to said error detecting circuit to cause the operation of the latter upon the occurrence of a second successive designation, additional means operated by said holding winding and remaining in normal position upon failure to sense any designation, and timed contact means operative after all index point positions have been sensed to operate said error detecting circuit through said additional means when in normal position.

3. In a machine operable in conjunction with punched cards having a series of index point positions in which a character designation is effected in solely one index point position but may have an additional unwanted second designation at another index point position, the combination of means for sensing said index point positions in succession to determine the presence of designations, a sensing circuit including said sensing means, a pickup winding and a holding winding of a dual wound relay, means to connect said pickup winding in said sensing circuit for a part of the sensing period of each first designation to effect the energization of said pickup winding upon sensing the first designation, circuit closing means controlled by said pickup winding to energize said holding winding and hold the latter energized until all index point positions have been sensed, an error detecting circuit, and means controlled by said holding winding to connect said sensing circuit to said error detecting circuit at a different part of the sensing period of the second designation to cause the operation of the latter upon the occurrence of said second successive designation.

4. In a machine operable in conjunction with punched cards in which a character designation is effected in solely one index point position but may have a second unwanted designation at another index point position, the combination of means for successively sensing said index point positions for determination of designations, a

sensing circuit including said sensing means, a relay, means to connect said relay in said sensing circuit for a part of the sensing period of each designation to effect the energization of said relay upon sensing the first designation, an error detecting circuit, and means controlled by said relay to connect during another part of the sensing period of each second designation said sensing circuit to said error detecting circuit to cause the operation of the latter upon the occurrence of said second successive designation.

EDWARD J. KEEDY.

No references cited. 

